Just, before this chapter begins, I apologize. I know absolutely nothing about Whitewater Kayaking, as I have never been before. But I've always wanted to, so that's what fueled the inspiration for this chapter. I hope you enjoy!
Adrift:
Reaching New Heights
The waters were favorable, the cool river air lightly blowing. The sound of the rushing current was sweet music to their ears. The appearance of wildlife was visible on several occasions.
Grant ran his hand through his hair, before taking up the kayak paddle again. He looked to the two kayaks on either side of him, smiling.
"I'm glad we're on this trip, Dad," he said, pushing his oar through the water. He truly was glad, but he wished that he didn't have to put on his image inducer. His father didn't exactly like the idea of him being gold-skinned the whole trip.
"Me too, son," the man answered, looking so outdoorsy in that moment. "So how goes the Institute? Is everyone treating you well?"
"Of course," Grant said with a smile.
"Definitely, Mr. Forsythe," added Ava from her own kayak. When she heard about Grant's father-son kayaking trip, she couldn't possibly refuse. She'd always wanted to go, and now she was getting her chance. "I can attest to that. Everyone admires him cause he's the one we look to for answers in class." She was only half-kidding of course, but after a short laugh, his dad didn't really appreciate the sentiment.
"You've gotta get me caught up on what all you've done since you've been there," he said, riding the calm currents. The nearest rapids were a ways off, so they enjoyed the time to talk.
The two mutants shared a quick look, trying to decipher if they should tell about their mutant antics as X-Men. Eventually, they agreed.
"Well, we've had… quite the number of adventures, Dad," said Grant, pushing a little in the water to prevent his kayak from turning.
"Well, tell me about them. You can't leave me hanging, son," he added, grinning.
Grant was surprised by his forwardness. The man had always been a little distant, not really wanting him to open up. And after he was revealed to be a mutant, Grant definitely wouldn't expect it.
"Mr. Forsythe, have you ever wanted to go to space?" Ava asked suddenly, breaking the tension.
The man looked at the two of them in confusion. "Space?"
"We've been there," Grant said with a smile, shocking him.
"But it was completely safe! We just had to battle a megalomaniac mutant and his group of wannabes," added Ava suddenly. "Actually, the others did the fighting. I was… turned against them and started fighting them."
His dad may as well have fainted, for he was dead silent, trying to grasp this. "What do you mean?" he asked after a short, hesitant moment. "What has Xavier got you doing?"
Grant shot a worried glance at the weather manipulator, angry that she might have gone too far. "He doesn't have us doing anything, I promise. It's nothing that we wouldn't do of our own will. The only time we have to do something that we might not necessarily want is when have a Danger Room session at five thirty in the morning."
"Danger Room?" asked his father incredulously, not liking the sound of that.
Ava was about to step in, but he stopped her. He explained briefly that the Danger Room was merely a combat exercise, like a training room for applications and use of their powers. It was all just a simulation though.
"Look, Dad, I know it sounds bad, but I promise you that it is not as bad as it sounds. All of us, we love it there. We're a part of something, Dad, something that we all love. Trust me, if I wasn't doing something worth all the danger, I'd come home."
"Well, what are you doing then? Because it sounds to me like the man has you in life or death situations all the time."
"We're saving lives, Dad. And we're learning how to save more lives in the future. Our powers are a blessing, even if it feels like a curse sometimes," explained Grant, determination to make his father understand in his eyes. "I love what I'm doing, and I get better at it each day."
Just to demonstrate, Grant threw out an arm and grabbed a rock from the bank nearest him, several yards away. Then he retracted his arm suddenly, before producing it to his astounded father.
"See? It's doing some good for me; when I first manifested my abilities, I barely saved your life, Dad. Xavier just wants us to be able to use our powers in the future for good."
His father thought for a long moment, and the two mutants resorted to silently passing the time, pushing down the river. After what seemed like forever, his dad finally made a remark, but it wasn't what they expected.
"Look, the rapids! Get ready!"
Up ahead, not fifty yards ahead of the three kayaks, were the beginnings of the rapids. They knew it would be tame at first, but soon enough, it would get rough. Very rough. Grant's dad specifically picked this river for that purpose, since he liked a challenge.
That's when Ava realized it, and she could take it from this angle. "Think about it, Mr. Forsythe. As X-Men, we might be willingly risking our lives to save others. But, is that any different from picking the Upper Toulumne River? You wanted the risk, the sense of adventure."
"Exactly, Dad. I mean, this place is famous for its rapids!" Grant said, liking where Ava was heading.
But before they could get an answer, the man's boat hit the first rapid, instantly yanking him in one direction. He pushed with his paddle in the other direction, straightening him out.
Ava hit the first line next, not sure of what to do. She remembered the advice she had been given by Logan before she left, and used her paddle to steer and keep her balance.
Grant hit next, doing much the same that Ava and his father were doing. He used his powers to his advantage, by stretching his weight in one direction for maximizing the effort to stay upright.
"Everyone okay?" asked his father. "The next line won't be so easy."
"Yeah, I'm good," Ava answered, not sure of what she had gotten herself into.
"Me too," Grant assured, ready for the next one.
"Good," he said. The river took a slight bend, through a small valley. "Now, I get what you are saying, son. And you too, Ava. But I still don't like the idea of you running around like a soldier."
Grant sighed. "It's not interfering with any part of my life, Dad. My grades have never been better, and I've done several extra projects. My mutant life has gone well, for the most part. Sure, it seems like it's one drama-filled episode after another, but I like it. In fact, I love it. We all do, and it's why we do it."
The next line, like he had warned, was worse than before. He charged through it without saying a word, and landed a little bit leaning to the right. Grant stretched and caught the end of the kayak, yanking it to the left quickly before Dad could lose balance.
The next two made it through without any long-term problems. The space before the next big line of rapids was almost a hundred yards, so they knew it would be a significantly longer amount of time.
His dad looked up to see storm clouds that seemed to be brewing in the distance. "Oh, those don't look good."
Ava smiled confidently. "Eh, don't worry, Mr. Forsythe. I've got it under control."
He pondered it for a moment before Grant cut in. "She can control the weather, to a certain extent. Although Miss Ororo is-"
"You had better say that she's inferior in every way, Grant, if you know what's good for you," the girl interrupted with a warning smirk.
"Significantly more experienced, since she's in her late thirties and has had more time to perfect her control, and even she struggles." Grant wondered if that would even work.
"What he means, Mr. Forsythe, is that both Ororo and I can control the weather. Except, mine is a little more raw than hers."
He was astounded by both of them. "So you can control the weather? That's… odd."
Ava's eyes began to glow with amaranth energy. Wind began to pick up all along the area, making the trees rustle even more than they were before. A boom of thunder echoed throughout the valley.
"See? It's not that odd," Ava tried. "I'm not as good with things like rain or making clouds, but I'm okay at generating wind." She snapped her fingers and a weak bolt of amaranth lightning shot across the clouds above them. "Lightning is what I'm best at."
"Whereas, Miss Ororo is good at all of those things," added Grant, with a smile. Ava glared at him. "And she can use wind currents to fly, while Ava can't."
"Hey, I did fly! Once!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, but your basic mutant abilities were amplified by Magneto."
She tsked. "It doesn't mean that I won't be able to learn! I've glided before, and on my own power too!"
"Gliding and flying are two very different things."
"Well, I guess since we're on the subject, what can the rest of them do? I mean, it reminds me of reading comics when I was little," he said, finally showing interest and trying to break the argument.
So Ava and Grant explained what the X-Men, faculty, and New Mutants could do, making sure that there was enough detail that he didn't ask many questions. Meanwhile, they hit some rapids but managed to hit through them without any problems.
"That actually sounds pretty… interesting, to say the least," the man said finally.
"Yeah, being a mutant isn't all bad, Dad," Grant said, pressing a button on the image inducer and showing his true skin. "I might be a little too abnormal-looking, but I've embraced that too. If it wasn't a necessity to remain hidden, I wouldn't wear this thing."
His dad flinched at the sight of him, which upset Grant. The boy put the disguise back on with a frown. The man touched the bridge of his nose, trying to think. "Look, son. I'm sorry. I haven't been… accepting of this side of you, and I truly apologize. It's just that I never expected anything like this. I mean, it's impossible, and yet I'm seeing it unfold before my very eyes."
They looked ahead for a moment, and the next rapids were nearing. Grant was about to answer when the river current suddenly sped up, yanking his father into it. They watched with horror as the man's kayak tipped over, and they could do nothing to stop it. His head hit a nearby rock as he tipped, and then the current pulled him and the kayak under, the current yanking him forward.
"Dad!" he yelled, shooting a worried glance to Ava.
"I love snow!" Jacquelyn said, running out to meet the wintry grounds. The entire mansion was covered with snow, and the huge expanse of landscaped trees and grass was no exception.
"Eh, I don't," Haley said from the doorway. She looked positively cold, her skin and hair almost brown. "I guess it's a plant thing, but I'd rather stay out of the cold."
"Suit yourself," the French girl said. "Everyone, come on out! Let's all play in the snow!" She threw herself down in her thick coat and gloves, instantly waving her arms around to make a snow angel.
The other New Mutants, excluding Haley, were soon dressed and equipped for the frigid temperatures. Reese, Augustus, and Masato joined her outside, laughing and playing around.
"Why are you having so much fun?" asked Aug to the Japanese boy. "You seem to be enjoying yourself for once!"
He rolled his eyes, before picking up a clump of snow and chunking it. It hit Aug in the back of the head, and he burst into laughter.
"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" asked Aug, picking up another ball. "Snowball fight!" He suddenly spun like a vortex and launched the ball at high speeds, aiming right for the Japanese boy.
Masato grinned, before throwing his hand to the ground and absorbing energy, armoring up until his spiky black hair and jet black skin contrasted completely with the ground. He took the snow ball to the chest, and showed no sign of it at all.
Reese suddenly tossed his own, hitting Jacquelyn in the back. She peered at him and grinned, before suddenly morphing into a tiger and digging up snow.
"You look like you're playing in a litter box!" Reese teased, and she growled in her non-amusement. She suddenly picked up a huge wad of snow between her back legs, did a front paw-stand, and twisted her body in mid-air, flinging a huge ball at Reese.
The boy merely chuckled as his purple energy shield appeared and took the entire attack. "It's going to take more than that, Tigress!" His shield disappeared and in its place, a large purple sling-shot appeared. He smirked and grabbed snow into his hand, before placing a hardened clump into it. "Ready?" he asked.
She merely smirked as he fired the projectile, almost as fast as Aug's vortex snowball. Just when she was going to get hit, Aug suddenly jumped in front of her, planted his feet, and spun. He became a blur, and the wind created by it was enough to pull the snowball around him, like an orbit. It then was launched again at Reese, travelling much faster than before.
Spartan didn't have enough time to switch for a shield or to dodge, but just before it could hit, Masato's arm suddenly appeared in the way and blocked the snowball.
"When did they split into teams?" asked Haley suddenly, who had almost dozed off standing up. She figured that it was a plant thing. She watched the two teams of two stand off against each other, throwing balls of snow and having a merry time. It was almost enough to make her want to join them, but the idea of braving the cold again made her want to go dormant for the rest of the season.
"I do not know, but it seems like a lot of fun," said a kind voice from behind. She turned to see Beast walking up, his kind furry smile almost warm enough to melt the snow outside.
"Not for me," she said with a sigh.
"Why so upset?" he asked from the doorway, watching the two square off.
"Watch this," she said, placing her green-pigmented hand outside the door. After a moment or two, it started to lose its color and turn brown, like a dead leaf. "See? The cold is too much for me."
He pondered her predicament. "Hmm, I may need to run tests on that. It seems as though it's just a facet of your powers, but it could be something else. Has it ever affected you like this before?"
She shook her head. "No. This is the first snow I've ever had. Back in the Savage Land, everything was warm and tropical, despite where it was." Her voice was tinged with regret, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She was surprised at the weight of the arm, but the fur was very warm.
"Perhaps it's because the temperatures are below freezing," he pondered. "It could be that your blood can't keep warm enough to support the plant part of you." He thought for a moment more. "This could make winters very hard on you, both physically and mentally, if you are cooped up indoors all day. I'll see what I can do in the lab. Maybe Keiko and I can work something out."
She smiled at her new teacher. "Thanks, Mr. McCoy."
"You're very welcome," he said, smiling. "But if you'll excuse me, I've got to show the others how to really have a snowball fight."
Haley smiled as he left the mansion, heading down to join the fight. She suddenly wished that she could join in, but as soon as she took the first step outside, her entire body shivered.
The kayaks sped through the water, Grant practically hysterical and Ava trying very hard to do what she could to slow them down. She blew strong gusts of wind in the opposite direction of the river, in an effort for them to catch up with the kayak.
His arms stretched out to grab his father's boat, and once he was certain that he was attached, he let his lower half go and retract toward his arms, like a rubber band. He was now sitting atop the other kayak, and he used every means he could to turn it over, feeling Ava's supportive wind.
"Please be okay, please be okay," he chanted again and again as he finally managed to turn it over. His limp father was still attached to the boat, but he was out cold and bleeding profusely from a large gash on his forehead.
"Is he all right?" asked Ava, scared for his life.
"Not dead," Grant uttered, not sure of what else to say.
Ava's winds were doing little to stop the current, and they hadn't even hit the most deadly part of the river. She began to pray under her breath that everything was going to be okay.
"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to get himself into a position where he could hold his father's head wound closed and work a way to get to the bank at least forty yards away.
"Praying," she muttered.
"Like that'll help."
She frowned, not ever considering that Grant wasn't exactly a man of God. She didn't have time to fret over it though, because they all heard the sound of the rapids increasing. And somewhere down the line was that waterfall that Grant's dad had mentioned…
"Can you stretch over to me and try to fight the current?"
He shook his head. "I don't have super-strength, Ava. It won't do any good."
"Just do it, please."
"The extra effort will make the boat capsize again, and then both of us will be hurt."
"Please."
Grant sighed, and with one arm still pressed onto the wound, he stretched the other to Ava's kayak, almost fifteen yards away.
"Now what?"
"I'm going to levitate the kayak and get it to the bank."
"You won't be able to. Even if you could fly yourse-"
"Grant, give me some positivity here! Shut up and do as I say! Before the next rapids hit." He remained quiet and let her try her way. If they even had time for it.
Her eyes began to glow and immediately, the wind picked up even more than they were before. Grant was trying to come up with another, worthwhile solution while she tried to do something she had never done before.
Grant thought about the bank, and using the trees to pull himself to them. But even if he could do that, his arms were too soft and stretchable. He'd never be able to keep his arms from stretching uncontrollably. If he could slow down the stretching, maybe he could pull himself to shore, but he wasn't strong enough for that. He knew he wasn't.
He looked back at Ava and suddenly froze. She was doing it, little by little, her kayak was hovering an inch or two above the water, but the strain was obvious. Beads of sweat poured down her forehead, just as blood poured from his father's.
Grimacing, she started trying to cover the distance between her and the bank, and little by little, she was making progress.
But disaster struck and broke her concentration when the kayak Grant was sitting atop hit a small line of rapids, and his outburst was enough to make her lose focus. The girl and her kayak plunged into the water.
Grant tried desperately to hang on and keep it afloat at the same time, and thankfully, he had managed.
"Okay, that's it," Ava exclaimed. She suddenly pulled herself out of her kayak. Before Grant could ask her what she was doing, the girl leaped from her boat in the direction of the bank nearest him. She stayed in the air longer than he would have given her credit, effectively gliding, before she fell back into the water about ten yards from the bank. The current pulled her away from it for a moment while she caught her bearings, and then she started to power stroke.
After what seemed like the longest, most enduring minutes of her life thus far, she finally grasped the soft mud of the bank and pulled herself out of the current of the water.
"All right, send your arms over. I'll pull you out!" Ava cried out, following the current as best she could over the bumpy terrain of the bank. It wasn't exactly smooth soil for her to traverse.
He figured her reasoning, not sure if it would work. He focused hard on stretching towards her, while keeping the kayak steady. As soon as her hands touched his, he got his hopes up.
She yanked and pulled, all while trying to keep her leverage. But the slope was slippery and his arms wouldn't stop stretching, like a yo-yo that continued to unravel as fast as she could yank the rope.
"Concentrate!" She yelled. "I'll handle the rest, just stop stretching! Focus on stopping the stretching! You've done it before, and you can do it here!" She was recalling the times when he had bungeed to stop himself from falling, but Grant knew that that was only his body weight. Now he had his father's and the kayak to worry about. His arms couldn't handle the stress to stop stretching.
"I can't."
She was getting angry now, and decided to try a bit of tough love. "Grant Forsythe, can't never could! Wait until Logan hears about this! Your dad will die if you don't stop yourself from unraveling! Your powers are the only thing that can help you and your dad right now. You are your only hope!"
He focused as hard as he could, trying to keep his arms strong and taut instead of weak and loose. For a long moment, the only thing he could think about was his father possibly dying.
With a surge of concentration, his arms suddenly snapped tight like a bow-string, and Ava took every chance she could get to slam her feet down and yank. After a long, hard-fought moment, they stopped the kayak from being pulled by the current.
"That's it," she said encouragingly. "Keep it steady." Using strength he didn't realize the petite girl had, she pulled with all of her might.
But suddenly, her feet gave out to the slippery slope and she hit the ground, losing her grip on him. The kayak suddenly sped forward, hitting the nearest rapids line in seconds, knocking them around but somehow staying upright.
Grant tried to stretch out to a now running Ava, but each rapid was enough to break his chances. The river bent and turned against them.
The girl, still running, whipped out her bag-covered phone. She dialed Xavier's number while she kept up with the kayak, wondering why she hadn't done this before. Thankfully, Xavier seemed to get the danger of the moment and picked up immediately.
"No time to explain, but Grant's dad is hurt. Get here ASAP." She clicked off the phone as soon as agreed and poured on the speed to catch back up.
"Xavier's on the way," called out Ava.
Grant shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We'll never make it before the waterfall."
That's when they heard the rushing water, almost like a thunderous boom that repeated again and again. She looked ahead, thankful that it was a ways off.
"Okay, throw out your arms and catch these two trees!" she said, pointed to a clump of trees up ahead. The two arms wrapped around the trunks, but once again, he couldn't make them taut.
"Are you going to give up, Aurum? Or are you going to fight for it? Come on!"
He focused, his energy spent, and the two lines remained taut. Instantly, the kayak lurched and nearly tipped, making him let go.
She studied his face, and immediately saw the look. The look that he had given up. He embraced his dad a little bit tighter and closed his eyes.
It was like the next few moments happened in slow motion. The kayak lurched forward, hitting a rapid and speeding up. Before Ava could do anything, if she could have done anything, the two of them fell off the waterfall, and Grant didn't even bother to scream.
Ava leaped.
And prayed.
She dove far faster than she would have thought, but the waterfall was at least a forty yards high. Her eyes glowed pure amaranth light and she felt the wind currents change instantaneously, as though evolution was making her fit to survive.
She stopped falling just as she waved her arms and the kayak lurched to a stop. It was as though she could see silver lines of wind gathered all around her and the kayak with Grant and his wounded father assembled.
Taking in a deep breath, Ava slowly lowered to a wide bank below the falls, her "passengers" falling in tune with her. As soon as they touched down, Grant released a breath he didn't even know he was holding, and he embraced his still wounded and unconscious father.
"I know, I know," Ava said. "I'll try not to say 'I told you so.' I completely understand."
He rolled his eyes, keeping his fingers pressed tightly to the gash. "Can we quit with the snarky comments until after my father isn't dead?"
She sighed. "All right. But can I at least get a-"
Before she could say another word, a now sobbing mutant embraced her around the neck. She was a little taken aback, but soon enough, she returned the embrace, her eyes tearing up.
"Thank you," he said with a smile. "I had given up, but you-"
"No need to thank me, or to finish what you were about to say," she said, pointing up. "Thank the big guy. He's the reason that miracles like these happen, don't you think?"
He smiled, and she could tell that she might have gotten through to him.
After almost an hour of waiting, the jet finally seemed to breach the horizon and they immediately got ready to board. Mr. Forsythe wasn't doing very well, and Grant had noticed the drop in blood pressure, even more so than for someone with an external wound.
As soon as the X-Jet lowered down, both Grant and Ava picked his father up and started to carry him over to meet Alex and Storm.
"How is he?" asked Storm as they finally got him into the jet.
"Not good. Blood pressure is dropping," Grant said distantly.
"Let's get him to the nearest hospital," Xavier said from the pilot seat. "No time to get him back to the mansion."
As soon as everyone was ready, they took off. Grant held his father's hand the entire way there, while Storm covered the wound with gauze until they could get him to a doctor. Ava thought she could see him mumbling, and it distinctly sounded like a prayer.
"Is he going to be okay, doctor?" asked Grant as soon as the doctor walked up to the group from the emergency room.
"He should be fine," the man said reassuringly. "Any longer though, and it could have been a different tale. He'll have to stay overnight, but you should be able to be on your way in the morning." He walked away after his announcement, leaving them alone in the waiting room.
The tension seemed to lift from the group almost immediately, and Grant was so happy that he could have bounced off the walls. Which was possible, if he wanted to form himself into a ball.
"I can't ever thank you enough, Ava," he said with grateful smile. "If you hadn't been there to fly and catch us, you knew what could have happened when we fell off of that waterfall. You saw what good I was."
"No, you were doing just fine. Don't worry about it. Now that's he's fine, it's no big deal."
Grant smiled but everyone else was a little baffled. Alex suddenly looked up at her and said, "You flew? And stopped them from falling down the waterfall?"
She nodded, describing what happened right before.
"That's wonderful, Tempest," Storm said, smiling. "Now we can begin the next part of your training."
She sighed. You save someone's life, and you get more training afterwards… Something is wrong with the system…
Xavier chuckled, and she knew it was from reading her mind.
Grant's dad woke up later that night, and he was surprised to hear of what happened. When he heard the full account, he thanked both of them for saving his life.
Mr. Forsythe ended up having a long discussion alone with Xavier, probably about what they had discussed at the start of the kayaking nightmare. When they were finally invited back in, the man had something to say to his son.
"When I heard all of that stuff you two were saying about what Xavier's was like, I was shocked. Almost enough to force you back home, Grant. I mean, what kind of man would let children fight other children, powers or no?" His son gulped. "But then I started talking with him, and I've listened to Xavier explain his ideals and his methods. I've heard accounts of you saving people's lives, and how that your power training has increased that potential for you to save more. Not to mention the fact that you've both saved mine today." Grant's dad paused, thinking. "My point is this: keep doing exactly what you are doing. If you can stop bad things from happening to good people, human or mutant, then I respect your decision and I applaud you for taking the risk. Thank you, Xavier, for opening up their ability to save lives. I couldn't be more proud."
"It's my pleasure to teach all of them, including your son," the telepath said with a smile.
Grant and his dad embraced, thankful to have not lost each other.
When I started this chapter, I was apprehensive. I had no clue where to take it. Adrift was not my favorite episode, and I couldn't do a repeat, so I pretty much applied the elements to whitewater kayaking. Hopefully, it worked well. Please, let me know what you think in a review!